March guest speaker report

Our speaker this month was Gill Lewis from  Barry Floral Society, who demonstrated how to create beautiful Easter themed arrangements for the table. Gill is a very experienced demonstrator and made these creations look so easy, but her skill and eye for design was plain to see!

Gill explained that there are three variations of design for table arrangements – those you can see over, those you can see through, and those you can see under, and she started with the ones you can see over. The first arrangement was very simple but effective – a small square or oblong clear container covered with either plain or brightly coloured elastic bands wrapped around the container to create gaps for the material to be inserted into. Only a few flowers and short stems of foliage are required for this small arrangement. 

The next easy arrangement was made by placing 4 jam jars into a basket or suitable pretty container, then adding flowers and foliage in an informal manner to each jar. The jars could be completely different, or the same material could be used for each jar.

Another idea was to wrap ivy around a wire nest, securing it with florists wire, and add easter eggs or easter chicks to the centre. Alternatively a candle could be placed in the centre.

Gill then moved onto the arrangements that could be seen through. Florists foam was placed in a low sided dish and secured with an elastic band. Several tall stems of pussy willow were inserted into the foam, with tall tulips in between, with space between each stem to create an open arrangement. The base was filled in with low foliage to cover the foam and dish.

For the arrangements that could be seen under, Gill used tall decorative stands with a dish on top with florists foam secured. Gill then used longer stems of flowers and foliage to create a wider display to balance the height of the stand. 

Gill very kindly offered 9 of the creations as raffle prizes so there were some very happy faces leaving! A very big thankyou to Gill for an extremely enjoyable and educational evening, and for the many flower arranging tips she shared with us. It was a very good turn out and we thank everyone who attended.

Our next talk is on Wednesday 29th April and our speaker is from Duffryn Gardens. Please note that the talk will commence at 7.15pm.